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"Welcome Home" Event for New Vets

"Welcome Home" Event for New Vets
The Department of Veterans Affairs in San Diego will host a “Welcome Home” event tomorrow, designed to help vets from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Department of Veterans Affairs in San Diego will host a “Welcome Home” event tomorrow, designed to help vets from Iraq and Afghanistan.

More than 17,000 veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have enrolled in San Diego for assistance and services through the V.A.

Yolanda Fortuna, a V.A. case manager, said 600 people showed up for San Diego’s first “Welcome Home” event for new veterans last year, and since then the demand for help readjusting to civilian life has grown.

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“This year,” she said, “because of the economy, we saw a need to bring in more resources, more jobs for our veterans, and also to give them resources regarding the PTSD. They’re going to be able to do a one stop shop. "

Fortuna said it can be time consuming to find out about benefits, so the “Welcome Home” event will let recently returned veterans and their families see what’s available to them, and sign up. She says she has a team of 21 people assigned to work specifically with new Vets.